Improvement in the manufacture of iron and steel



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uAMEs-ratminnunn, OF'YSTALYFERA, NEAR SWANSEA," WALES.

llcttcrsl etcnt No. 102,9l2fdatd May 10, 1870; patentedin England March8,1869.

IMPROVEMENT INTI-1r: MANUTACTURE or mow "AND srnnn.

The Schedule referred. to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all when it may conccr n Wales, a subjectof the Queen of GreatBritain, have ifivented or discovered new and useful Improvements in thelvlanui'acture of Iron and Steel; and I, the

said JAMEs'PALMEn BUDD,do hereby declare the nature of thesaid'invention, and in whatmanner the same 18130 be performed, tobeparticularly described and ascertained. in and. by thegi'ollowingstatement .t-llerebf', that is to say: p i

3 This invention has for its object the production of plate-iron, orrefiuedmetal, as it is sometimes called,

suitable for pudtllihg or steel-making, without the necessity ofremelting the pig-iron and 'blowing'air into it. K i e The invent-ion.consistsin refining the metal in, the

plate mold by running the molten pig-metal into. shallow pans, whichhave previouslybeen coated with apaste of soft hematite iron ore, orother oxideof iron, with or without nitrate of soda. The pans. shouldbe'similartothemold used for receiving the iron from theordinaryrefinefls fire,.and capable of holding from three tqfive inches indepth' of the molten metal. i

Whenthe fluid jr'netal is poured into the pans, a.

violentebullition takes place, and a large proportion of the silica,together with some of the carbon, phosphorus, and sulphur,contained inthe iron is carried ofi' in the slag, so that, when the slabs ofpurified metal When my object is to produce bars ofwrought iron,

.which are to be rolled into black plate or thin sheetiron, to beafterwards converted into tin-plate, I line theshallow pans, intoiwhichthe cast-iron is run previous to puddling, with a composition composedof hematite iron ore and nitrate of soda.

I mix togethera quantity of hematite iron ore con- .taining, if.possible, no phosphorus or sulphur, and only a moderate quantity ofsilica, and mix therewith halt by bulk, or two-fifths by weight, ofnitrate -of soda, or thirty pounds of hematite ore to twenty pounds ofnitrate of soda. Having well mixed these together mechanically, I passthe mixture through a pairof clayrolls, by which the grit is reduced,and it becomes Be it knowuth'atl I,IJAMns' PAL 1 m- BUDD, of Ystalyfera,near Sw'ansemin the count-yof Glamorgan,

more plastic. Ithen form a paste of the mixture,

which requires about three-tenths of" its weight of water to be added.It is then sufficientlyliquid to be I filled into a bucket. I place asnear as convenient to the tapping-hole of the blast-furnace, from whichthe fluid cast-iron is' to be obtained, 'a series of shallow v molds ofcast-iron. I V 3 Those I use, which I find convenient, are to thefollowing dimensions: length, seven feet nine inches" attop,'tapering.'to seven'feet fourand one-half inches at bottom width,two feet two inches at top, tapering' to foot nine and onc half inchesat bottom; depth,

four inches.

that the plate of cast-iron shall be more easily removed from it.

, These molds hold about thirteen hundred weight of cast i'ronwhenfilled about three 'andone half inches deep. I run into those moldsmolten cast-iron every four hours, or oftener, takingcaretofill themoften enough that they shall-retain their heat or drying power ht.-tween the casts. As the casts from the furnace must thus be frequent, Ipot the iron' from the furnace; that is I take out what iron I requirefrom an opening into the furnace at the upper part of the tapping-hole,without emptying the whole of the iron in the hearth. H While the moldsare hot from the previous cast I pour into each of them aloucket-fnll,or aboutsixty-tbur pounds, of the'refining mixture before described, and

spread it evenly over the bottom and sides. The water evaporates, andthe mixture lies at the bottom as an adhering paste. I then proceed torun the molten iron from the furnace, or from the remelting c'upola,orfrom the refinery or other furnace, as the case may be, until I havefilled the molds about three and onehalf inches. A great ebullitiontakes place; fumes in large quantity are evolved; jets of flame burnfrom the surface of the metal for a considerable time; a quantity of'scorim 'is thrown up violently to the surface and separates from theplate of iron that fills the mold, and t,

whencold can be stripped therefrom.

The weight of the scorize so thrown up is from thirty to forty poundsfrom each plate of metal weighing about thirteenhundred weight.

The iron contained in the hematite ore used in the paste is convertedinto cast-iron, and adheres to the bottom of the plate.

The refined iron, when broken, presents a honey: comb, or cellular,appearance throughout, and. resembles over-blown refined metal, and alarge proportion of the silica will have-been removed from it.'

' The iron thus refined is ready for the'puddling 'process as advancedrefined metal. I find it advantageous to use some pig-iron with iron,refined as above de- The use of thelbevellng, or tapering, in the moldis scribed, in puddliug. About one-third of pig-iron I iron scorize arelargely used as material in the blastfurnace, will make excellentpuddled bars, and work to a good yield.

The process of puddliug is shortened, and the sides and the bottom ofthe furnace are less acted on than with unrefined iron. r

The quantities in proportion to the refining-paste, which I have given,are suitable for the quality of' cast-iron known as white iron. Whengray, or carbureted iron is used, the quantity of nitrate of soda to beused with the hematite ore should be increased. I prefer to use thirtypounds of nitrate of soda, instead of twenty pounds, as in thecomposition first mentioned, with thirty pounds of hematite ore.

When the malleableiron sought to be made in the puddling-furnace is notto be of the quality suitable paste, but make it of hematite ore alone.When used alone a great ebullition'takes place when the molten iron runsover it. The oxide of iron in the hematite is reduced, jets of whiteflame burn on the surface for a considerable time, and a large,proportion of the silica is separated from the iron. The refined iron inthis state is much preferred-by the puddlers, as it lessens and helpstheir work.

In place of hematite ore other oxide of iron, which can similarly beformed into a paste, may be employed as, for example, the refuse of ironpyrites', from which thesulphur has been abstracted for the manufacturedrama of sulphuric acid, and from which the copper and other metalscontained in it have been extracted. Oxide of manganese, iron scale, orother substances capable of yielding oxygen when exposed to heat, may beincorporated with the paste.

Having thus described the nature of my invention and the manner ofperforming thesame, I declare that I am aware that powdered oxide ofiron and iron ore have heretofore been employed to improve the qualityand deearbonize pig-iron in several modes, as, for example, by mixing itwith the molten metal in the puddlingfurnace, by charging it into thepaddling-furnace, running the molten pig-iron over it, and mixing thetwo together, and by sprinkling it upon molten pig-iron and runningmolten metal over it. I am also aware that nitrite of soda has been usedin like manner. I, therefore, ,do not claim, broadly, the employment ofiron ore and nitrate of soda in the manufacture of iron, but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

The process of manufacturing plate-iron by running the molten pig metalinto pans which have previously been coated with a'paste of iron ore,and per- I'nitting the metal to harden into aplate, as before described.

Also,the process of manufacturing plate-iron by running the molten pigmetal into pans, which have previously been coated with a paste of ironore and nitrate of soda, and permitting the metal to harden into G. F. WAnkara} Both of N0. 17 Grace-ehm-ch J OHN DEAN, Street, London.

